China weighs export controls on AI models and chips to prevent Western acquisition

China is considering export controls on AI technologies, including banning local companies from using TSMC, report claims -- restrictions would also advanced AI models, training data, and overseas acquisitions

China is considering a major expansion of its technology export restrictions that could cover advanced AI models, training data, and overseas acquisitions of strategically important technology companies, reports the Financial Times. In addition, the Chinese government is mulling over prohibiting local chip designers from making their chips at TSMC and other foreign chipmakers. The measures would be designed to keep leading-edge AI developments in China as competition with the U.S. in frontier AI and hardware intensifies, but at the same time, they would slow down expansions of Chinese AI standards globally, which generally weakens the country's position. China's Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) has consulted domestic AI and semiconductor companies about ways to keep critical technologies from transferring abroad or falling under Western control, reports Financial Times citing two people familiar with the talks. Regulators have talked with Alibaba, ByteDance, and Zhipu about potentially limiting transfers of important AI training data outside China and restricting foreign users from downloading model weights. Overseas customers could still access Chinese AI services and models remotely, so Chinese companies can still monetize their work from foreign customers. However, restrictions on downloadable model weights could still have significant implications for China's AI industry. DeepSeek and Moonshot offer open-weight models that users can download, deploy on their own infrastructure, and modify for specific workloads. Meanwhile, flagship models from Anthropic and OpenAI remain closed, which means that Chinese companies have an edge over rivals that they are about to lose. In addition, MofCom has reportedly asked for industry feedback on possible restrictions that would prevent overseas chipmakers like TSMC from producing advanced processors based on designs developed by Chinese companies such as Alibaba, ByteDance, and Huawei. This is perhaps the most controversial proposal, as TSMC is clearly ahead of SMIC when it comes to process technology leadership. On the one hand, the move ensures that SMIC will have enough orders to pay for its R&D and expansion. On the other hand, Chinese companies can get better hardware if it is produced by TSMC. Separately, the Chinese government is considering tighter controls over foreign acquisitions of strategic technology companies, including firms that work on agentic AI technologies. The potential acquisition rules are intended in part to close what Beijing considers a regulatory loophole that enabled Meta to acquire Manus for $2 billion. Chinese authorities subsequently ordered the transaction to be undone. The measures could be included in the next revision of China's catalogue of technologies prohibited or restricted from export. The catalogue already includes rare-earth materials, their processing technologies, and several lithium-ion battery production technologies. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.

China weighs tighter export controls on AI models and chips

Chinese regulators are considering tightening export controls on artificial intelligence and semiconductor technologies, as the US-China rivalry intensifies in cutting-edge AI. Regulators led by the Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) have been consulting leading domestic AI and chipmaking groups on how to prevent China's advanced technologies and star start-ups from being acquired by the west, according to two people involved in the discussions. MofCom talked to AI companies including Alibaba, ByteDance and Zhipu on limiting the transfer of key data for the training of their models overseas, as well as allowing their model weights to be downloaded by foreign users, the people said. China would still let overseas customers access the models and services, however. China's AI lab Moonshot last week released its Kimi K3 model that exceeded Anthropic's flagship Opus 4.8 by most of the benchmarks, demonstrating that China has significantly narrowed its gap with the US in frontier AI. The leading Chinese models from Moonshot as well as DeepSeek are so-called open-weight, which allow users to download to their local servers and customise to their particular needs. Meanwhile, leading US models from Anthropic and OpenAI are closed. MofCom has also sought views on possible restrictions that would prevent overseas chipmakers including Qualcomm and TSMC from producing advanced semiconductors based on designs developed by Chinese companies such as Huawei, Alibaba and ByteDance, according to the people. Potential restrictions could also be imposed on the overseas acquisition of strategic technology groups in areas such as agentic AI, the people said. This is mainly to address a loophole that Beijing believes to have led to Meta's $2bn acquisition of Manus, a deal that was subsequently ordered to be unwound by Chinese authorities. The new measures could be incorporated into the next revision of China's catalogue of technologies prohibited or restricted from export, the people said, reflecting Beijing's growing confidence that it has established a global lead in some areas of AI. Most of the proposals are still under discussion, with regulators weighing industry feedback before making a final decision, according to the people. They added that tech companies have told regulators that some of these tighter measures would slow down their AI development and hurt China's potential to win the technology race. The catalogue is one of China's three main export control regimes, alongside two control lists covering dual-use items. Its most recent revision in 2025 added several lithium-ion battery manufacturing technologies to the list of restricted exports, building on existing controls over strategically important technologies such as rare earth extraction and processing. The update being discussed and negotiated would be the most significant in years, according to the people. MofCom, ByteDance, Alibaba, Zhipu and Huawei did not respond to requests for comment. Additional reporting from Cheng Leng in Beijing

China considers tighter export controls on AI models and chips, FT reports

July 21 (Reuters) - Chinese regulators are considering tightening export controls on AI and semiconductor technologies, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Regulators ⁠led by the China's Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) have been consulting leading domestic AI and chipmaking groups on how to ⁠prevent China's advanced technologies and star start-ups from being acquired ⁠by the west, the report said, citing ⁠two people involved in the ⁠discussions. Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

China weighs export controls on its own AI models and chips, FT reports

Beijing is said to be consulting its top AI and chip firms about a licensing regime, though officials have decided nothing and no timeline exists. China is considering tightening export controls on its home-grown artificial intelligence models and the chips that run them, according to the Financial Times, in a move that would push Beijing's technology defences well beyond the raw materials and equipment it already guards. The newspaper, citing two people involved in the discussions, said regulators led by the Ministry of Commerce have been consulting leading domestic AI and chipmaking groups about possible safeguards. Nothing has been decided, and it is far from clear whether or when any measure would take effect. The talks are the latest sign that the world's second-largest economy is starting to treat its best AI as an asset to be protected rather than shared, a mirror image of the American curbs that pushed Chinese firms towards custom ASICs in the first place. According to the FT, officials are weighing a review of the export lists that cover AI- and chip-related goods, clearer criteria for granting licences, tighter checks on end users, and higher hurdles for transferring technology abroad. The stated aim, the report says, is to stop China's most advanced systems and its fastest-growing start-ups from being scooped up by the West. The chip element is the newer part of the picture. Beijing already restricts exports of rare earths and certain semiconductor materials, but folding finished AI accelerators, and the models trained on them, into a formal licensing regime would mark a broader shift in how it wields industrial policy. Much of the groundwork was laid earlier this month. Reuters reported that the commerce ministry had held talks with Alibaba, ByteDance, and the start-up Z.ai about limiting overseas access to their flagship systems, among them Alibaba's Qwen, ByteDance's Doubao, and Z.ai's GLM-5.2. Those discussions, according to Reuters, covered both closed and open-weight models and floated a tiered review under which frontier systems might be kept at home entirely. For now the specifics remain thin. The people cited by the FT did not spell out which chips would be covered, what performance thresholds might apply, or how open-source releases would be handled, and the ministry has not published a draft. China's commerce ministry has not commented publicly on the report, and none of the companies named in the earlier talks have confirmed the discussions. That silence is worth noting, because Beijing rarely telegraphs export policy before it lands, and officials have stressed to Reuters that curbs might apply only to future models. The backdrop is a chip war that has hardened over several years. Washington has steadily tightened its own controls, most recently moving to close the loophole that let Nvidia's top chips reach Chinese buyers through overseas subsidiaries, while leaning on allies to cut off chip-making equipment. Beijing has answered with rare-earth restrictions and antitrust probes, and now, it seems, may be studying tools of its own. If China does erect an AI export regime, the fallout would reach past the United States. As The Decoder noted, European developers and smaller firms that had begun leaning on China's freely downloadable models as a cheaper alternative to American services could find that door narrowing. What comes next, if anything comes at all, is a licensing framework and the fine print that would define it. Analysts expect any rules to start with high-performance systems and future model generations rather than software already circulating in the wild, though the FT's sources cautioned that the plans could still change or be shelved. There is also a bargaining dimension. Some observers read the manoeuvring as leverage for a wider trade deal, given that Beijing has separately pressed Washington to ease its chip curbs. For a country that spent the past decade railing against export controls aimed at it, drawing up its own would be a notable turn, and whether it hardens into a wall or stays a negotiating chip, the report says, may not be clear until officials put something in writing.

aI: China considers tighter export controls on AI models and chips

Regulators led by the China's Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) ⁠have been consulting leading domestic AI ⁠and chipmaking groups on how to prevent China's advanced technologies and star start-ups from being acquired by the west, the report ⁠said, citing two people involved in the discussions. Chinese regulators are considering tightening export controls on AI and semiconductor technologies, ⁠the ⁠Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Regulators led by the China's Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) ⁠have been consulting leading domestic AI ⁠and chipmaking groups on how to prevent China's advanced technologies and star start-ups from being acquired by the west, the report ⁠said, citing two people involved in the discussions.